theholycow
10-31-2010, 02:33 PM
http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/2010/10/21/white-trash-repairs-historical-thursday-the-armstead-snow-motor/
Before arriving at the design of the current snowmobile, it was once thought that a screw-propelled vehicle would be the easiest way to traverse cold, barren landscapes.
http://thereifixedit.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/77383920-e92a-450d-8f44-61270ae431da.jpg
A sort of conversion kit was created that attached two large cylinders (screws) to the bottom of a tractor or car so it could glide as easily as Legolas atop a snowbank. The first of these creations was a Fordson tractor, dubbed the Snow Devil. It was easily maneuverable and could travel up to 8 miles an hour, even in deep, powdery snow. Here’s a 80 year-old silent film (dubbed over with awful music, YouTube style) to highlight the machine’s advantages.
zBjlSJf4274
A company called Snow Motors, Inc was created to market and sell these kits worldwide. In January 1926, Time Magazine did a special report on their product:
The new car will consist of a Ford tractor power-plant mounted on two revolving cylinders instead of wheels—something on the order of a steam roller. The machine has already proved its usefulness in deep snow previously unnavigable. One such machine has done the work which formerly required three teams. In Oregon a stage line uses a snow motor in its two daily round trips over the Mackenzie Pass between Eugene and Bend. Orders are already in hand from Canada, Norway, Sweden, Alaska.
There were even reports of the Canadian RCMP replacing many of their iconic horses with the Snow Motor. But despite the ingenuity of the machine, no information is known as to if they became popular or even what happened to the company.
Before arriving at the design of the current snowmobile, it was once thought that a screw-propelled vehicle would be the easiest way to traverse cold, barren landscapes.
http://thereifixedit.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/77383920-e92a-450d-8f44-61270ae431da.jpg
A sort of conversion kit was created that attached two large cylinders (screws) to the bottom of a tractor or car so it could glide as easily as Legolas atop a snowbank. The first of these creations was a Fordson tractor, dubbed the Snow Devil. It was easily maneuverable and could travel up to 8 miles an hour, even in deep, powdery snow. Here’s a 80 year-old silent film (dubbed over with awful music, YouTube style) to highlight the machine’s advantages.
zBjlSJf4274
A company called Snow Motors, Inc was created to market and sell these kits worldwide. In January 1926, Time Magazine did a special report on their product:
The new car will consist of a Ford tractor power-plant mounted on two revolving cylinders instead of wheels—something on the order of a steam roller. The machine has already proved its usefulness in deep snow previously unnavigable. One such machine has done the work which formerly required three teams. In Oregon a stage line uses a snow motor in its two daily round trips over the Mackenzie Pass between Eugene and Bend. Orders are already in hand from Canada, Norway, Sweden, Alaska.
There were even reports of the Canadian RCMP replacing many of their iconic horses with the Snow Motor. But despite the ingenuity of the machine, no information is known as to if they became popular or even what happened to the company.